Tournament Tradition

I'm leaving for the Midwest Kendo Federation Fall '05 Tournament this weekend. Excitement loomed in my mind all day over tonight's departure as I gathered my things for class. In today's discussion of Buddhist art I had a few words in debating Prof. Phillip's thoughts about a particular image. It was a healthy discussion and I think the whole class benefited from it.

By late afternoon I ran out for a quick bite with David and Julie at Curry N' Hurry before going home to pack. I began washing my hakama gi last night and finished ironing it when I returned home. I remember from the last Kendo testing about keeping our clothes clean and fresh. It is said that this can be traced back to a samurai tradition of preparing for battle.

I have a tradition of my own. I clean my gi always one practice from a tournament so that the sweat from the last practice session gets absorbed into the fabric--a reminder to give it my all in any given match. I've done this since my days in Karate and Hwa Rang Do and have thus kept the tradition.

This last practice before tournament was excellent. Nearly every member of the UW Kendo Club came to work hard so that we can properly represent our dojo. We went through it hard with very little break before coming together for some last words. Then we assembled into our University vans and left for La Crosse.

Our club is staying at the Stoney Creek Inn where we checked in before heading out for a team dinner. Since we usually eat a good meal the night prior to tournament, we chose to dine at the Outback Steakhouse for the most superb steak. After dinner we return to the hotel to relax and get our equipment in order. I'm sharing my room with Eric and Sam--both of them are testing with me on Sunday.

Before turning in for the night I gather everyone up and buy them one drink at the hotel saloon. We toast to good luck in tomorrow's tournament.

Fei-O-Meter
Activity: 3 | Energy: 3 | Friends: 3